Chapter 8 - US Activism and the Free South Africa Movement

Summary

“The lawyers kept raising the ante, and that helped move things forward.”

—Nathaniel R. Jones

Introduction

Though the sanctions movement had been active for decades, it reached its apex in the 1980s as the Free South Africa Movement became increasingly active. McDougall joined the largely TransAfrica-led coalition to lobby successfully for the retention of the Clark Amendment that banned covert CIA operations in Angola after Reagan tried to halt it. American legislators became increasingly concerned about their country's connections with southern Africa, particularly after 1983, when the State Department issued a travel advisory to Ciskei and other areas following violent protests.

Mineral rights and sanctions

Michigan congressman Howard Wolpe, for instance, became a leading proponent of economic sanctions, filing several early 1980s requests for hearings to examine US reliance on nuclear materials, such as uranium, emanating from southern Africa. Wolpe addressed, in particular, the import-export company Transnuclear.

Americans and renewed support for apartheid

By 1984, the Reagan administration had also taken steps towards further engagement with the continent. George Schultz told a Boston group that Americans needed to change their backward stereotypes of Africa, particularly given the fact that “eleven percent of America's population traces its roots to Africa”. He went on to announce a $90 billion food aid package for the continent and intone that:

We are not the gendarmes of Africa. But to stand by and do nothing when friendly states are threatened by our own adversaries would only erode our credibility as a bulwark against aggression not only in Africa, but elsewhere. Therefore, we have been ready, together with others, to provide training and arms to help our friends defend themselves … our policy of promoting peaceful solutions to regional conflicts applies, as a priority, to southern Africa.

Predictably within the Cold War context, Schultz's rhetoric framed the US as a “bulwark” of defence against communist aggression. While he denied the presence of US military bases in the region and emphasized the need to encourage “positive change in the apartheid policy” and bring about Namibia's independence, he continued to portray liberation movements as violent and inhumane.